Garlic Lemon and Parmesan Oven Roasted Zucchini

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I almost didn’t post these because the pictures are so meh but seriously you are going to LOVE the flavor of this zucchini so I had to share anyway! Plus, they are incredibly easy to make!

Yes, zucchini can be kind of bland and boring but when you brush it with a garlic lemon oil and top it with plenty of parmesan cheese it goes from drab to fab. I just couldn’t stop eating them. These are a summer side that you must try. You might even like them so much you’ll forget about the main dish.

Roasting veggies in the oven is my favorite ways to cook them, I just love the texture it gives (it softens them without drowning them out) and how it enhances their flavors. Then when you add another favorite of mine to that oven roasted goodness, a delicious oven crisped cheese you know it’s gotta be good, right? My younger brother and I used to always scrape the crisped cheese bits left over from oven baked dishes my mom would make – the best were the ones from the twice baked potatoes. Great cheese memories :).

Keep this recipe for that abundance of garden fresh zucchini soon to be harvested this summer or better yet grab some at the grocery store tonight and make this lemony flavored, parmesan crusted, oven roasted zucchini to pair with your meal.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut zucchini into thick wedges or halves (cut each zucchini in half then that half in half, so you have 4 wedges from each zucchini. Next time I might try to do just halves so the parmesan bakes more evenly, plus it would be easier to add the parmesan). In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, lemon zest and garlic. Align zucchini on prepared baking sheet spacing them evenly apart. Brush olive oil mixture over tops of zucchini (working to get some of the garlic/lemon zest on each piece and not just in one spot. It clumps together a little so just spread it out). Sprinkle tops with parmesan cheese (try to get as much of it on the tops as possible, you can pick up what was sprinkled off to the sides of the zucchini and add it to the tops) and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven 11 - 13 minutes then, adjust oven rack near top of oven and broil for several minutes until parmesan is golden brown. Serve warm.

Averie @ Averie Cooks: I was thinking the pictures are great and was thinking, wow, she did a great job with…zucchini sticks. NOT easy and I think you nailed it! Pinned! And I would eat the whole tray of this! May 19, 2014 at 2:23pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks Averie! Seriously though, how do you take pics of veggies? Teach me the tricks :). May 19, 2014 at 8:48pmReply

Barb: These look delicious. Is it possible to cook them ahead of time to take to a party? If so, how should they be stored and are they good cold? June 8, 2017 at 9:53amReply

Jaclyn: I don’t recommend serving them cold and they aren’t quite as good when made in advance. June 13, 2017 at 6:23pmReply

Shari Kelley: We are getting a lot of zucchini out of our garden right now, so am very happy to see a new way to fix them. I love the idea of adding lemon zest to the olive oil. Your comment about cheese memories made me smile. I completely relate to that. Thanks, Jaclyn! May 19, 2014 at 3:43pmReply

Catherine: I made these last night! Definitely a new addition to the regular rotation!

Just for fun, I cut half of the batch into quarters and the other half into halves. Overall, both ways worked nicely, but I think I will stick to cutting them into quarters like you did. Depending on how soft you like your zuc (my littles like it squishy), the halves may need an extra minute or two of bake time to soften up. But more than that, I just liked the cheese/oil/lemon to zuccini ratio better when the zuc was cut smaller… I thought the flavors shined a little bit more.

But again, easy + healthful + quick + uses up all of that summer squash = winner! May 21, 2014 at 10:28amReply

Jaclyn: Thanks so much for your feedback Catherine! Now I might just stick with the wedges. Glad you liked the recipe! May 21, 2014 at 11:53amReply

Diane Whitbeck: It is very easy to cut zucchini, or any rounded fruit or veggie, into quarters. First, cut in half. Then lay cut side down – the flat side – on your cutting board. Slice right down the middle of the curved surface facing you. If you try to cut into wedges (quarters) with the rounded side on the surface of your cutting board, you will cut some very irregular shapes – and maybe your fingers – as it is easy for your knife to slip on the rounded surface – ouch! Hope this helps – your recipe is quite tasty and your pix are beautiful! August 20, 2017 at 5:41pmReply

Kate @ Diethood: Well, now, if you think that these pictures are “meh”, then I’m not going to post my next 10 posts! haha :) Girl, the photos are perfect and delicious and I pretty much wanna fly through the screen and eat it all. May 21, 2014 at 2:05pmReply

lana: I went to the markets on Sunday and bought a bag of zucchinis. This recipe will be perfect. Thank you. By the way your photos look delicious! May 26, 2014 at 5:40pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks for the compliment :) and I’m so happy to hear you liked these! May 26, 2014 at 8:18pmReply

Catherine: If you put the zucchini in a zip lock with the oil and garlic mix, gently mix it all up and then spread on a baking sheet, the spears tend to get a more even coating. Such a great recipe…thanks for sharing! May 29, 2014 at 5:25amReply

Jaclyn: Thanks for the tip Catherine! Glad you liked the recipe! May 29, 2014 at 8:58amReply

Diana: I was expecting great things from this delicious looking recipe. I was, however, disappointed with the end result. I expected more flavor and must have over cooked the zucchini because, though it looked fabulous, it was very mushy in texture. I’ll try again sometime with less cooking time. May 30, 2014 at 9:49pmReply

Jaclyn: If you want more flavor you could add in some Italian herbs and that should do the trick (or more garlic and lemon), and yes definitely just reduce the baking time if you felt it was mushy. June 22, 2014 at 10:22pmReply

Bill @thewoksoflife: Excellent recipe for using all of the summer zucchini. Do you use regular, heavy duty, or nonstick foil for your vegetable roasting? June 21, 2014 at 7:20pmReply

Jaclyn: I just use regular most of the time, but you can never go wrong with the heavy duty stuff :). June 21, 2014 at 11:10pmReply

Stephanie: Thanks for the great recipe. My neighbor came by with two huge zucchini from his garden and I was overjoyed, but there is only so much zuke bread one can eat.
I did spears, like you, but instead of brushing on the oil mix I mixed it in a baking dish and rolled he spears in it. I then patted the cut sides into the Parmesan that I spread out on my cutting board. Perfect application with minimal mess.
Thanks again. June 25, 2014 at 12:15pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks for the tips Stephanie! So glad you liked it! June 25, 2014 at 10:20pmReply

Lisa: I made this tonight– it was wonderful!!! I halved the zukes, but think I would have preferred spears, as you prepared them. I’ll do that next time :)
Thanks for the delicious recipe!!! July 6, 2014 at 6:25pmReply

Diane: I just saw the picture of this zucchini on a Stop & Shop Peapod ad on Facebook. Thank goodness they credited your photo so I could find your site! These look delicious. I can’t wait to try them and now I am loving all your other posts…you have a new follower! And apparently your pictures are NOT meh! July 7, 2014 at 1:52pmReply

Miranda: I made this last night, and the flavors are AMAZING. I used more flavoring than the recipe called for – the zest from four small lemons, a whole (small) head of garlic, and tons of parmesan. Then I put it under the broiler for about five minutes at the end (which got me some deliciously crispy cheese, but was probably why my veggies were a but mushy). I will definitely be using this flavor combo again (and again, and again…) – thank you! July 20, 2014 at 8:33amReply

Ella: Having this for lunch right now. If you hear that I ate the entire pan by myself (I used 3 medium sized zucchini), well, you can’t believe everything you hear or read, the internet is full of lies! July 26, 2014 at 10:10amReply

Ann: This may be a stupid question but….do you eat the dark green peel? August 5, 2014 at 9:44amReply

Jaclyn: Not a dumb question :), it’s fine to leave it. August 28, 2014 at 8:49pmReply

Elise: These were fabulous! I’m not usually a fan of adding lemon zest, but I followed the recipe as written with the exception of adding a little fresh crushed red pepper, and just like others have claimed, my family ate the whole pan! Plus it was so quick and easy, I had to look for a quick cooking protein, so while the zucchini was in the oven, I cooked pork chops on the grill. Thank you for such a wonderful tasty and quick zucchini solution! August 11, 2014 at 10:55amReply

Shar-ann Simpson: I love this recipe. I didn’t read it very well before I made and mistakenly used grated parmasean cheese and not shredded but it turned out well anyway. I had a hard time sharing with my family. August 15, 2014 at 10:31amReply

Vicki: These are so delicious! It works well cutting them in half instead of quarters. Thank you for the recipe! August 24, 2014 at 6:37pmReply

Nicole: Delicious!!! Just made them tonight and I’ve eaten half the pan. All your recipes turn out perfect for me- every time!!! Thx for being such talented chef and sharing your gift!! September 2, 2014 at 8:50pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks so much for your kind compliment Nicole :)! I’m so glad you liked these and that my recipes always turn out for you, that’s great to hear! September 22, 2014 at 9:39pmReply

Melanie: How many servings does this recipe produce? I’m not sure how to figure that out. :) September 4, 2014 at 9:08amReply

Zucchini Fries | Live and Let's Create: […] five year old preferences I decided to try and make a fry out of the zucchini. I found a recipe by cooking classy and based mine off of hers. On the road Brian and I always stop at Five Guys and get some fries. […] October 12, 2014 at 11:35amReply

Elizabeth: I made these and my picky husband loved them! I put up a version of the recipe on my own blog, hope you don’t mind. They came out beautifully! October 16, 2014 at 8:31amReply

Jaclyn: I don’t mind at all :). I’m so glad they were enjoyed! October 16, 2014 at 10:32amReply

Jessica Centericco: I tried these tonight for a last minute side and they were delish! I don’t know why I doubted you but I thought 11-13 minutes sounded too short so I cooked them for 15 and then broiled a little too long. They were still delicious but didn’t have the same snap they would have if I had followed the directions. I am the only zucchini eater in the house so I’ll use the leftovers and add them to my marinara (when serving) to add more veggies. Simple, quick and delicious. October 20, 2014 at 6:00pmReply

Sharon H: Making these tonight to go with our grilled whole chicken (yes, it’s still great grilling weather in
Texas!). Secretly hoping the kids won’t eat them so I will have more. October 27, 2014 at 5:54pmReply

Lonnie: Just made this tonight. My husband and I both thought it was the BOMB! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made with zucchini and summer squash, and cut them in half instead of quarters. LOVED it! May 23, 2015 at 6:57pmReply

Natalie: Made these tonight! AWESOME. But instead of grating the cheese, I used a potato peeler to get long thin strips of cheese. It makes for less wastage and to me, wasting Parmesan = deadly sin!! :P May 25, 2015 at 7:32pmReply

Cherie deLeon: Yes, yes, yes!!! Why have I not thought of cooking zucchini like this before?! July 19, 2015 at 3:53pmReply

Brittanne: These are yummy! I added the juice of the lemon (I didn’t want it to go to waste). July 25, 2015 at 8:58pmReply

LJ Higginbotham: I sometimes crave zucchini, but I don’t want to go through the messy dredge, dunk and fry method very often. This recipe is a great alternative. Thanks July 28, 2015 at 4:52pmReply

Pamela Kitchen: I have made your recipe twice and really devoured it all. Will be making as long as the garden keeps producing. Thank you muchly. August 30, 2015 at 5:08pmReply

Robert von Tiehl: Crush garlic into a paste using the flat side of a chef’s knife and a bit of salt.

In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, lemon zest and garlic paste.

Put Parmesan on a plate.

Dip zucchini wedges in olive oil mixture, then press the two cut sides on the Parmesan. October 25, 2015 at 5:03amReply

Elizabeth: I thought this would be amazing based on the pics and the reviews but sadly it was not very good. The zucchini was mushy and there just wasn’t much flavor other than lemon juice. My husband is the cook and usually a very good one. I prefer my zucchini sliced and pan fried I guess. November 5, 2015 at 3:14pmReply

AkiraDay: Try a fresh zucchini, when they’re a bit old that happens. Mine were crunchy and I made them in the small oven, it took me almost 30 min but there were good July 18, 2016 at 2:31pmReply

Eva: Thank you for the recipe. It’s a delicious dish, I absolutly love it.
It is worth sharing your pictures, because I could find your recipe. :) April 13, 2016 at 9:26amReply

AkiraDay: I just made them! There’re extremely yummy!!

I wish I could know the calories though, I’m on a diet. But, I guess there’s not much. July 18, 2016 at 2:28pmReply

Kelly: Made these today and ate both zuchinnis myself! Couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you for sharing. July 27, 2016 at 12:44pmReply

Jaclyn: Glad you loved them Kelly! Thanks for leaving a comment! July 27, 2016 at 12:56pmReply

Merilee: I ended up cutting my zucchini in 6 wedges each and after brushing on the oil mix I spread my cheese on a plate and picked each spear up and pressed the oiled sides into the cheese. Worked like a charm and left each one with a nice thick coating of cheese. Yummy November 28, 2016 at 6:33pmReply

Laura: Made it tonight to serve with grilled Tilapis. So good, family loved it! Will make again. I substituted Avocado oil for olive oil, no real difference in taste or appearance. March 10, 2017 at 4:46pmReply

LETIZIA TRIPP: these look good . I loooove zucchini , always looking for new recipes with zucchini . going to try these this week April 27, 2017 at 6:47amReply

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